Dressing shelter



Nov. 29, 1966 H. SZKOLNY DRESSING SHELTER Filed March 31, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

HELENE SZKOLNY ATTORNEYS Nov. 29, 1966 szKoLNY 3,288,157

DRESSING SHELTER Filed March 31, 1964 2 he ts-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. HELENE SZKOLNY BY M W M ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofiice 3,288,157 Patented Nov. 29, 1966 3,288,157 DRESSING SHELTER Helene Szkolny, 73 Marlboro St., Belmont, Mass. Filed Mar. 31, 1964, Ser. No. 356,109 7 Claims. (Cl. 135-5) This invention relates to a portable dressing shelter which will completely enclose a person, and which has other related uses.

Portable dressing shelters are used to conceal a person from the view of others, so that he may change his clothes in privacy. Prior constructions of portable dressing shelters generally have been intricate, awkward, and of limited use. Some are designed to be supported on the shoulders of the user, and therefore conceal the users body even from himself, which hampers dressing. For these reasons among others, known dressing shelters have not proven very successful.

The object of the present invention is to provide a portable dressing shelter which is simple in construction, easy to use, and which has other related uses such as a beach blanket or a bag.

In general, the dressing shelter of the present invention is characterized by a hat section having a stiffened rim which in use extends out beyond the shoulders of the wearer, and a long robe section attached to and hanging from the hat section to completely encircle and conceal the wearer. In this manner the dressing shelter is supported by the wearers head, and the wearer is completely enclosed by the shelter to afford complete privacy. In one embodiment of the invention, the robe is separable from the hat, the robe forming a beach blanket while the hat shields the wearer from the sun. In this embodiment, preferably the top end portion of the robe includes opposed drawstrings to collapse it over the hat, and the hat includes opposed openings in the brim through which the drawstrings may be passed to be tied under a wearers chin and hold the dressing shelter thus formed by the robe and hat to the wearer.

The dressing shelter will be further'described in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. l is a perspective view of the hat;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the robe;

FIG. 3 illustrates the hoop which stifr'ens the rim of the hat;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the hat and robe assembled to form one embodiment of the dressing shelter;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are perspective views of the robe as and after it is transformed into a carrying bag, and

FIG. 7 is a perspective View of another embodiment of the dressing shelter.

The dressing shelter is formed by a long robe section and a hat section, which sections in one embodiment of the invention are separable from one another, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The robe 10 may be formed from two rectangular sections of a flexible material, such as terry cloth, sewn to one another along their sides to form a long tube having opposed longitudinal seams 12. The bottom end portion of the robe is turned under and sewn to form a hem 14, and the top end portion turned over and sewn to provide a casing 16. An opposed pair of openings 18 are provided in the casing 16, and a pair of cords 20 .are received in the casing. Each of the cords extends completely around the robe, and both end portions of each cord pass through the same opening 18 in the casing. The ends of the cord may be tied together. When these cords are pulled in opposite directions, the opposed loops they define within the casing function as drawstrings to gather together the top end portion of the robe and close the opening.

The hat may be formed from a disc of flexible matea positive fashion.

rial, such as terry cloth. The hat includes a peripheral casing 32 which receives a hoop 34 formed of a stiff material such as wire, as illustrated in FIG. 3. The hoop 34 braces the rim of the hat, and holds the brim in a taut, stiffened, extended position. The hat includes a central crown portion 36, which may be fitted, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4, or which may simply be the central portion of the body of the hat, as illustrated in FIG. 7. Two diametrically opposed openings 38 are provided in the brim of the hat adjacent the central crown portion. The diameter of the hat is greater than the width of the wearers shoulders, so that the hoop holds the rim of the hat well out and away from the wearers head. The hoop may include one or more joints 4%, such as sleeve joints. These joints permit the circle defined by the hoop to be broken, and the hoop to be removed from or inserted into the casing 32 by being passed through an opening provided in the casing. Constructing the hoop with two opposed sleeve joints, as illustrated in FIG. 3, permits the hoop to be separated into two semi-circular sections within the casing so that the hat can be folded in half. Of course, the surface of the hoop should be formed of a material which resists rusting and corrosion.

To assemble the robe 10 and the hat 30 into a dressing shelter, as shown in FIG. 4, the hat is placed within the top end portion of the robe, which portion is then gathered over the brim of the hat by pulling the cords 20 in opposite directions. The cords are passed through their respective openings 38 in the brim adjacent the crown.

To don the dressing shelter, a person first inserts his arms in the bottom of the robe and gathers the robe material together on his arms until he reaches the hat. He then grasps the ends of the cord 20 extending into the interior of the dressing shelter through the openings 38, and lifts the gathered dressing shelter above his head, lets the robe fall down about him, places the hat on his head, and ties the ends of the cords 20 together under his chin to secure both the hat and the robe to him in In this manner, the wearer will be completely enclosed within and concealed by the dressing shelter, but will nevertheless be free within the shelter to move about and to see what he is doing. The dressing shelter may be made in a range of sizes, each size large enough to permit the intended user to move freely within it, and yet be completely concealed. Simply by untying cords 20 and pulling them out through openings 38, the robe may be separated from the hat. The robe alone then may be spread on the beach and used as a beach blanket, while the hat may be used independently of the robe as a sun hat to shade the wearer. To this end, the hat may include a chin strap 42 to hold it on the wearers head.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the hat as well as other articles may be received within the robe in the top portion of the robe adjacent the cords 20, and the cords 20 pulled in opposite directions to gather together the top end of the robe. The bottom portion of the robe then may be folded over the gathered top end as shown in FIG. 6, and the cords 20 tied about the top end to form a closed bag. The hoop reinforcing the hat will now reinforce the bag and may be clasped to carry the bag. Of course, the hat need not be placed within the bag, nor need it reinforce the bag.

In the embodiment of the dressing shelter illustrated in FIG. 7, the hat section 50 and the robe section 52 are sewn together to form a unitary article. A reinforcing hoop for the rim of the hat section is received in a casing formed at the hem attaching the rim of the hat section to the top of the robe section. This embodiment of the dressing shelter is used in a manner similar to the embodiment previously described, with similar attendant advantages.

Certain other modifications of the dressing shelter are illustrated in FIG. 7. These modifications may be incorporated in either embodiment of the dressing shelter. The robe section may include a panel 54 of lightweight cloth to provide a window for the wearer and to assist in ventilating the interior of the dressing shelter. If added ventilation is desired, eyelets or additional window panels may be provided. During use, should it become stuffy within the dressing shelter, the sides of the robe may be pulled together by the user to force air out through window panels 54 by a bellows action and to draw fresh air into the dressing shelter. Instead of window panels, a simple zippered opening or other type of opening may be provided. An inside pocket 56, sewn to the robe section 52, may be provided within the dressing shelter to hold toilet articles or articles of clothing within reach of the person using the shelter. If desired, the inside pocket may be formed of or lined with a waterproof material, and may include structure, such as snaps or a zipper, to hold the mouth of the pocket closed.

Other modifications may be made in the construction of the dressing shelter. For example, one of the seams 14 may be formed by a zipper or snaps to permit the robe section of the dressing shelter to be completely separated. When so separated, the dressing shelter may be supported in an upright position by poles, forming a portable beach cabana. Drawstrings could be provided at other locations in the robe to fit the robe to the wearer, or to close the bottom of the robe if desired. Of course, sleeves may be provided in the robe if desired. Accordingly, while preferred embodiments of the dressing shelter have been described, it will be understood by those skilled in this, field that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention,

I claim:

1. A dressing shelter comprising a hat having a stiffened rim, said rim extending outwardly from the shoulders of the wearer, a cylindrical robe of flexible material and of approximately the, same diameter when fully extended as said rim, an upper end of said robe being formed with a peripheral casing having an opening, and means for securing said robe about a wearer including at least one drawstring enclosed in said casing and extending through said opening for contracting said casing and said upper end of said robe inwardly over said rim toward the center of said hat, to provide a dressing shelter about the wearer.

2. A dressing shelter as set forth in claim 1 in which said means to secure the robe about :a wearer includes at least one opening through the hat adjacent the center of the hat, whereby the drawstring of the robe may be passed through the opening in the hat and secured to the wearer to form a dressing shelter.

3. A dressingshelter as set forth in claim 2 in which the robe includes two drawstrings enclosed in the casing,

the drawstrings extending through opposed openings in the casing, and in which the hat includes two openings spaced on opposite sides of the crown of the hat, whereby the drawstrings may be passed through the openings in the hat and tied together under a Wearers chin to secure the dressing shelter formed by the hat and robe about the wearer.

4. A dressing shelter as set forth in claim 3 in which the hat includes a central hemispherically shaped crown section, the openings being spaced adjacent the periphery of the crown section and on Opposite sides of the crown section.

5. A dressing shelter as set forth in claim 7 in which the hoop includes at least one detachable joint, and in which the casing in the rim of the hat includes at least one opening through which the hoop may be passed.

6. A dressing shelter as set forth in claim 7 in which the hoop includes two opposed sleeve joints.

7. A dressing shelter as recited in claim 1, in which said rim has a further peripheral casing, together with a hoop of stiff material received within said further casing for stiffening said rim.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,215,468 2/1917 Block 2-175 X 1,494,249 5/ 1924 Johnson 24 1,599,798 9/1926 Stockton -5 1,804,190 5/1931 Wendel 1355 2,376,284 5/1945 Sidelman 289 2,649,584 8/ 1953 Chappell 2-2 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,211,219 10/1959 France. 7

301,710 12/1928 Great Britain.

HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner.

REINALDO P. MACHADO, Examiner.

L. I. SANTISI, Examiner. 

1. A DRESSING SHELTER COMPRISING A HAT HAVING A STIFFENED RIM, SAID RIM EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM THE SHOULDERS OF THE WEARER, A CYLINDRICAL ROBE OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL AND OF APPROXIMATELY THE SAME DIAMETER WHEN FULLY EXTENDED AS SAID RIM, AN UPPER END OF SAID ROBE BEING FORMED WITH A PERIPHERAL CASING HAVING AN OPENING, AND MEANS FOR SECURING SAID ROBE ABOUT A WEARER INCLUDING AT LEAST ONE DRAWSTRING ENCLOSED IN SAID CASING AND EXTENDING THROUGH SAID OPENING FOR CONTRACTING SAID CASING AND SAID UPPER END OF SAID ROBE INWARDLY OVER SAID RIM TOWARD THE CENTER OF SAID HAT, TO PROVIDE A DRESSING SHELTER ABOUT THE WEARER. 